Ron Rash on Doc Watson

A while back, the North Carolina Arts Council taped author Ron Rash talking about Blue Ridge music in literature—including Deep Gap native and flat-picker Doc Watson, who passed away last week at the age of 89.

From his bio for MerleFest: “Arthel “Doc” Watson spent over half of his lifetime as America’s most renowned and influential folk guitar stylist. At any given Doc Watson concert, one would have seen and heard not only a guitar player of the finest caliber but also an intelligent, witty, down-to-earth “man of the mountains” who loved to share the music of his heart and home. Doc was an extraordinary entertainer who never failed to capture the admiration and affection of his audience. His concerts were filled with hot flat-picking tunes, slow romantic ballads, gutsy blues numbers, delicately picked melodies, and an old-time gospel song or two. Each song was sung with unmatched clarity and each tune played with a dexterity that inscribed Doc Watson’s name in the music history books.”

Ron Rash is the author of three prize-winning novels: One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River,and The World Made Straight; three collections of poems; and two collections of stories. A recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University.